Friday, June 23, 2006

I’ve got a lot of backlog right now I’m sifting through and editing, so my apologies if my posts are not quite as timely as they should be.It seems like this stuff ebbs and flows, and either I can’t find anything to write about, or there’s too much to write about.Right now, I’m faced with an embarrassment of riches.

One of those riches is a podcast entitled “Fear the Boot”.Now, I haven’t really delved deeply into the world of gaming podcasts, so I’ve only sampled a handful.So far, “Fear the Boot” is my favorite. The guys involved have great radio voices, they’re not afraid to sound a bit silly, and they’re clearly having a good time.They remind me a lot of morning radio hosts, mingling a light sprinkling of their personal lives with discussion of issues that are interesting to them in an almost random order.They’re not driven by the headlines, but rather by their own internal barometers of what’s interesting to them right now.

What I find most fascinating is how disconnected these guys are with the online gaming world.They’re not plugged into RPGnet or EN World.They don’t all seem to know names like Monte Cook, Burning Wheel, or Todd Lockwood.They’re very “mainstream” gamers who know what they like, and don’t like, and represent a divergence of views.Granted, they are all seasoned gamers.While repeatedly invoking the usual assurances that there is no such thing as bad fun, they clearly prefer standard roleplaying tropes as defined by D&D, Shadowrun, GURPS and the like.They also have a strong preference for character-driven games, complex plots, and storytelling at the gaming table.Don’t expect to hear detailed analysis of GNS theory.Do expect to hear how you can create dynamic characters who evolve in ways beyond simply gaining levels and magical weapons.The episodes are variable in length, though they seem to be settling into about an hour in length.They usually review a gaming product and give a tip on some aspect of the hobby.They follow that up by posting downloadable gaming aids related to those tips on their web site.New podcasts are produced weekly and posted on Mondays.Check ‘em out.